


The One with the Rush Tee Shirt

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-18
Updated: 2011-10-18
Packaged: 2017-10-24 18:01:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/266319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For a fraction of a second, his Southern accent slipped out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The One with the Rush Tee Shirt

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for Minimal Loss! I wrote this story a few years back and its one of my favorites.

“Hi there. I have to say this is a surprise.”

Emily came out on the porch and looked at Hotch. She knew she had to have a funny look on her face. Here was her Unit Chief, Aaron Hotchner, the guy you had to poke with a stick or plow with liquor to see his dimples, wearing a pair of worn jeans and a Rush tee shirt. The tee shirt was what slayed her. She was such a secret Rush fangirl.

Hotch seeing her in vinyl running pants and a black tank top was a bit embarrassing. Luckily, she was wearing a bra. It was the first day that didn’t feel like hell on Earth. Some of her torso was visible but luckily her belly ring hidden. Yeah, he still didn’t know about that.

“Why are you looking at me that way?” Hotch asked.

“Jeans? Rush? Who are you and what have you done with Aaron Hotchner?”

He smiled and she did too. Emily leaned on the banister and looked at him again.

“I want to say this without your hitting me.” he said.

“What?” her guard went up again.

“I wanted to check up on you; make sure you were alright.”

“I'm alright. I want to be back at work but…doctor’s orders. Actually, my stepmother is having a lovely time catering to me. I'm afraid you might have driven out here for nothing.”

“Not nothing.” Hotch replied, shaking his head. “You're not going stir crazy?”

“I was, the first two days. It was like knowing all your friends went somewhere cool and you couldn’t go. Then…”

“What?”

“Nat found the perfect agent to pacify me.”

“What’s that?” Hotch asked, his lips quirking into a grin.

“ _Gilmore Girls_. It is the best…its like drugs, Hotch. I've been watching it non-stop and somehow it makes a little extra time in bed tolerable.”

“So you're having fun in bed again?”

“Ha-ha, very funny.” Emily made a face and hit his chest. She liked the way he smiled.

“I brought you something. C’mon, sit down, you shouldn’t be standing too long.” He gently led her over to one of the wicker chairs. “I don’t want to get on your stepmother’s bad side; she’ll never let me come over again.”

“She is a tough cookie like that. And she keeps a watchful eye on all the boys.”

“I’ll remember that.” Hotch replied.

“You said you brought me something?”

“Yes. I know you have another week before you can come back to work and you’ve been staying out here so I wanted to bring you some of the comforts of home.”

Hotch handed her the bag. Emily smiled as she opened it.

“You really shouldn’t have Hotch; that was really nice...oh my God, chocolate.” She pulled the butter creams out of the bag.

“It’s just a small box; I didn’t want you thinking I was trying to fatten you up. I remember you said once it was a comfort food.”

“It is. You brought me chocolate.”

“There's more.”

“OK.” she went back into the bag. She pulled out a bag of her favorite Kenyan roast coffee, a Stuart Woods novel that she had not read yet, and a video. She looked at the cover and gasped. “Where did you find this?” Emily held up _Night of Dark Shadows_.

“In a quaint little used book and video store in Old Town Alexandria.” For a fraction of a moment, his Southern accent slipped out. “I was hard pressed parting with the 2 dollars and 50 cents but in the end decided it was a worthwhile purchase.”

“I love this movie.”

“I know.” Hotch nodded.

“How?”

“You talk and I listen, Prentiss. Those plane rides, car rides, they get long. You're a talker.”

Actually, Emily was a rambler. She did not like to give out too much personal information about herself so she just talked about whatever filtered into her mind. Normally, Hotch would hate that kind of thing…it might drive him up the wall. With her, he thought it charming and very adorable.

“You came all the way here to bring me coffee, chocolate, and a video?” she asked.

“You're forgetting the book.”

“OK, so you came all the way here to bring me comforts of home? I'm at my parents’ house; I'm pretty comfy Hotch.”

“It wasn’t an arduous trip…Chevy Chase is not far from DC.”

“You're right.”

“And I was um, I was thinking about you.”

“Thinking about me?”

“Yeah. I miss you, and I know it’s only been a week and surely I am not trying to rush you back to work before those ribs heal but…I miss you.”

“You miss me?”

“Stop it,” he smiled. “Stop repeating what I say; you know it makes me crazy.”

“Yeah, I'm sorry.” She laughed a bit. “Nat is going to come out here any minute and give us a funny look.”

“Why?”

“I should be lying down. Its driving me bananas but the better I obey the doctor, the faster I get back on my feet. So…” Emily stood, returning her “gifts” to the bag. Hotch stood too.

“I’ll get out of your hair; I just wanted to see that you were alright with my own eyes.”

“You could’ve called. Jules smuggled my personal Blackberry in for me. I keep it under my mattress.”

“I didn’t want to call.” He replied. “I wanted to see you.”

“Well, do you have to rush off? I mean, have you ever seen _Night of Dark Shadows_?”

“I can't say that I have.”

“Oh Hotch, you are in for a treat…this is prime, top-notch cheese horror.”

“Are you inviting me in?” Hotch asked.

“Mmm hmm.”

“That'll be OK with your parents?”

“My parents love you.” Emily waved off the thought.

“They do?”

“Of course they do…you’re perfect you know.”

It looked as if she was going to say something else but instead she just bit her lip. Awkwardness crept in but the arrival of Gregory Prentiss brought things back around.

“Agent Hotchner, what a nice surprise.” He came out onto the porch and shook his hand.

“Ambassador Prentiss, always a pleasure.”

“What brings you out here on a Saturday evening?” the former Ambassador asked.

“I wanted to see how Emily was feeling.”

“He brought movies and coffee, Daddy.”

“That was certainly nice of him. Are you going to stay to keep Em company; her stepmother and I are heading out?”

“Out where?” Emily asked.

“Don’t you remember love? Our opera tickets are for tonight. I thought of canceling but _La Boheme_ is one of Nat’s favorite.”

“Don’t be silly; I’ll be fine.”

“I feel better knowing Aaron will be here with you.”

He smiled as Natalie Prentiss joined them. There was a bit more small talk, she told Emily dinner was warming in the oven and it was enough for two, before they climbed into their car and were off.

“Home alone,” Hotch whispered as Emily held the screen door for him. “Whatever will we do?”

“Scare ourselves silly on 70s horror films while indulging in Natalie’s pot roast. It melts in your mouth.”

“I can't wait. Let’s lock up OK. I know it’s the suburbs but…”

“No,” Emily turned back toward the door and put both locks on. She didn’t turn on the alarm. “That’s a good idea. Hotch, are you sure you don’t have somewhere else to be. I can handle being alone. I'm a bit sore and a little slow but I'm not an invalid.”

He didn’t want to say he wasn’t there for her when she needed him and he wanted to be here now. It was the absolute truth but he did not want to say it. No, he wanted to, he just couldn’t. It was more than that anyway…much more.

“I haven’t had such excellent company in too long to recall.” He said.

“I'm not keeping you from Jack?”

“No. We will be together next weekend. I'm here because I want to be Emily, and because the offer of melt in my mouth pot roast was something I could not refuse.”

“Then lets not keep you waiting, SSA Hotchner. Dinner and movie, coming right up.”

She took his hand, leading him into the kitchen. Hotch tried not to let the feeling, the connection, go to his head. This night would be long enough; he didn’t need to be thinking about other things instead of just spending some time with a friend. He consoled himself thinking that fantasies about Emily Prentiss were nothing new.

“I have to tell you, I am not a cheap date.”

“What do you mean?” Hotch asked, raising an eyebrow as he leaned on the counter and watched her put food on plates. It really had been too long since he had a home cooked meal

“$2.50, Hotch? What does that say about me?”

“The price of the coffee and those gourmet chocolates should kill that theory. While I am sure your stepmother’s pot roast is delicious, and I look forward to eating it, maybe when you feel better I can take you out to dinner.”

“Yeah?” she looked at him.

“Yeah. Real dinner, not Chinese or some appetizers in a dive bar.”

“I like appetizers in a dive bar.”

“You like real dinner too.”

“Yeah.” Emily smiled, her eyes focusing on food instead of him. “What do you want to drink, we have raspberry iced tea, apple cranberry juice, peach iced tea and water. There’s also a great Merlot but I can't drink wine…interferes with the painkillers.”

“Raspberry iced tea is fine. I'm really glad I'm here, Prentiss.”

“We've got to break you out of that Prentiss thing. I also answer to Emily and have been known, occasionally to turn around to “hey, you’.”

“You call me Hotch.” He countered.

“I like calling you Hotch; you are Hotch.”

“You could call me Aaron…sometimes.”

“Not in the field. In the field, you're Hotch. I really do like Hotch, but I will work on Aaron if you work on Emily.”

“Deal. Let me at least help take the plates. You are doing too much and should be resting. I didn’t come here so you could slave over me…it was supposed to be the other way around.”

Emily smiled at that. He wanted to slave over her? This was not the Aaron Hotchner she knew at all. He wasn’t being stuffy, short, or directly to the point. He was smiling, his voice sounded calm and mellow, and for God’s sake he was wearing a Rush tee shirt.

She handed over his plate and glass without comment and they went into the den, the only room in the house that still had a VCR. Bless her parents for being in the Stone Age about something. Emily put the movie in, joining Hotch on the couch with remotes. He told her to relax; making her lay, and took her legs onto his lap.

“How do you plan to eat, Hotch?” she asked.

“Watch this.” He grabbed one of the pillows, put it on her legs and placed his plate on it. “Ta-da.”

“If you get anything on it, Nat will kill you.” Emily smiled.

“Then I guess I have to be careful. We don’t want mom not allowing me over anymore.”

She laughed, turning on the movie. Emily wanted to tell him she was happy for the company, for his company, but couldn’t find the words. Maybe it didn’t matter, he was there, and actions spoke louder than words. He was there and he brought her stuff. For once, Emily was not going to worry about what it all meant. She was going to enjoy it.

***


End file.
